Online casket sellers may turn traditional morticians into a dying breed.

Internet-based companies such as Owl Brothers (www.paylesscaskets.com), CasketGallery, and WebCaskets think they can bury the offline competition by, among other things, slashing the prices of coffins and urns in half. The Web companies are betting that customers will be happy to take their business away from traditional funeral homes, which mark up casket prices as much as fivefold, counting on grieving relatives to spend thousands of dollars without asking any questions.

The new companies can offer low prices because they use a sort of "just-in-time" approach to stocking products. While the nation’s 22,000 funeral homes keep a total of almost $500 million of casket inventory on hand, WebCaskets, for example, stocks a tiny fraction of that amount. It positions the merchandise at 12 distribution centers and uses overnight delivery to get them to funeral homes as it receives orders from family or friends of the deceased. An added advantage: WebCaskets’ volume means it can stock 300 styles, while most funeral homes may carry 20.

Until 1984, funeral homes could have refused to cooperate with their competitors, but a federal regulation imposed that year requires that local morticians be willing to use products that families purchase from outside companies. The funeral rule led to some consolidation and the rise of a few large companies, but what insiders call the "death-care" market remained mostly local and fragmented. Now, though, the Internet is letting companies sell products anywhere in the country. Or even internationally: When an American family living overseas couldn’t find a casket they thought was appropriate when their 16-year-old daughter died earlier this year, they visited WebCaskets and ordered one online.

Many newcomers think they can transform the market in ways that go well beyond price, by offering new services. HeavenlyDoor.com offers virtual visits to grave sites, allowing out-of-towners to view pictures of cemetery markers via the Internet. Plan4ever.com can arrange to make donations to charities. Legacy.com allows friends and family of the deceased to post online testimonials. Phoenix Rising, with its WowWhatAWayToGo.com site, will even help the bereaved quickly search for information about how to send the remains of loved ones up in a rocket or scatter the ashes from a hot-air balloon instead of interring them at the cemetery. (These companies all generate their revenue through fees.)

Even the services that morticians typically provide can, perhaps, be offered in a lower-key way online. WebCaskets—whose slogan is, "Pay your respects, not your life savings"—offers live chat on its site so customer-service representatives can help buyers choose everything from flowers to urns, in an environment that is less intimidating than a funeral home.

A handful of funeral homes are using the Internet to fight back by offering live Webcasting of funeral services or wakes, so the infirm and those who live far away can attend virtually. The Messinger Mortuary, in Scottsdale, Ariz., began offering the service when it was asked to videotape a funeral for a widow who was unable to attend her husband’s funeral because she couldn’t leave her nursing home.

It is possible that, in the long run, funeral-services companies that combine an online and local presence will dominate. Many seem to be headed toward a clicks-and-mortar approach.

For the moment, though, most funeral homes don’t even acknowledge that they face a challenge. "You’re dealing with one of the last bastions of the locally owned business," says Kelly Smith, spokesman for the National Funeral Directors Association, a trade group. "They are very hesitant to change." He said two-thirds of funeral directors don’t have e-mail and the industry is "behind the curve on e-business compared with other professions."

The start-up companies are, for now, "more of an annoyance to funeral directors than anything else," says Alex Frost, WebCaskets’ founder. The newcomers aren’t perceived as "a profound threat to their core business." The National Funeral Directors Association says only about 3,500 caskets were sold online in 1999, out of total sales of between 1.8 million and two million in the U.S. The impact so far has been "zilch," Smith says.

But he adds: "The more interesting question is, What will happen in the future—when the computer generation starts making funeral arrangements?"

Consumer groups and outfits that have elderly members, such as the AARP, are doing everything they can to support the newcomers. These groups hope the competition will push down prices. They also like that the online businesses are offering consumers scads of information on their rights. (No matter what the funeral-home director tries to tell you, you are right in thinking that you don’t need to buy a casket and embalming services when you opt for cremation.)

"The Internet has been a huge boon to consumers looking for information about funerals," says Lisa Carlson, executive director of Funeral Consumers Alliance, a consumer-advocacy group.

With so much support for the newcomers and such a price advantage, local morticians likely will need to react soon. Otherwise, well, it’s their funeral.

THIS LOOKS GOOD ON PAPER

Now here is a technology that leaps right off the printed page: Digimarc MediaBridge’s digital watermarks let magazine readers use a scanner to jump directly from a printed page to a related Web site.

Say you are reading an article that piques your interest or have run across an ad for a product you would like to buy. Look for the Digimarc "D" symbol on the lower outside corner of the magazine’s page. Assuming you find one—the system is starting to be used in magazines such as Wired and Popular Mechanics—you hold the symbol up to a Web camera. These symbols contain an inconspicuous code that, when read, can launch a browser and automatically connect readers to a dedicated URL.

For instance, a Carparts.com ad in the August issue of Popular Mechanics takes readers to a Web page offering $50 off orders of $100 or more. (This link is only available through Digimarc.)

The catch is you have to have a camera on your personal computer, but Digimarc is working to cover that problem. To promote use of the watermarks, it has given away 25,000 Web cameras (worth about $40 each) to subscribers of Wired. Web-camera use will likely spread as PC makers include the relatively inexpensive devices with their PCs, much the way they bundle speakers and other peripherals as part of a package now. Certain scanners also can recognize the Digimarc image and transport readers online.

Those who still don’t have Web cameras can continue to find information on the Internet through what now feels like the old-fashioned way: typing in the address of the relevant Web site.

For more information: www.digimarc.com.

DUSTIN HOFFMAN WOULD BE HUGE IN THESE MOVIES

Budding filmmakers have to get started somewhere, just as Steven Spielberg did when he began moviemaking at the age of 12. So the legendary director has teamed up with the Lego company to develop the Steven Spielberg MovieMaker Set.

Aimed at kids eight years old and older, the system includes a Lego movie set that is small enough to sit on a desk right next to a PC. Kids move figurines—such as a dinosaur, people, or a stunt car—around on the set and take pictures with a camera that they attach to a computer. Using the system’s film-editing software, they can turn the still pictures into an animated movie.

Special effects abound. Want the ground to shake and the dinosaur to emerge from a gaping hole in the road? No problem. The creature can crush cars, bite off roofs, and generally tear the city apart. If it is too violent—or not violent enough—that is no problem either, because tyro Alfred Hitchcocks can shoot all or part of the movie over again and then edit it to get it just where they like. If a curious younger sibling sticks his hand into the scene, that can easily be cut, too.

The special effects might not quite remind you of Godzilla, but the action looks life-size when it plays out on a full computer screen. Junior directors also can make their movies seem more real by adding credits, titles, and background music.

Once a film is completed, it can be e-mailed to friends or entered in a Lego-sponsored contest judged by Spielberg himself. Kids also will be able to exchange their filmmaking experiences with each other on the Web site. The filmmaking kit, which will retail for $180, will be available in November.

For more information: www.lego.com/studios.

FROM HAND-HELD TO MOUTH

Say you are tired of waiting for a table at one of Manhattan’s trendy eateries, but you don’t know a good alternative within walking distance. If you have a Palm organizer, you can ask Vindigo.

The new software program, available as a free download from the Web, lists thousands of places to eat, shop, and play in New York, Boston, Washington, San Francisco, and Chicago. By telling it where you are, you can get listings and reviews of everything from movies to nightclubs that are nearby. You can also get directions.

Once you have been to a restaurant, say, you can write your own review, which will be added to those provided by Vindigo’s staff. You also can notify Vindigo if a spot has closed. The information you provide is sent to Vindigo anytime you synch up your Palm with your PC. At that point, you also automatically download any updates to the software or the content.

The company brings in revenue through an emerging form of advertising that is a virtual form of the smiling Italian restaurateurs who beckon people into their quaint establishments in Boston’s old North End. Because you are letting Vindigo know your whereabouts—or your destination—the software can generate an ad suggesting that you try a nearby restaurant or store.

Vindigo still has bugs to work out. For instance, a Web site demo told us to go a "1/2 mile" to get to a popular brunch spot in New York. Anyone who spends time in Manhattan—where Vindigo is based—knows city people give directions in blocks, not miles.

Still, it is nice to know that when the next obnoxious maitre d’ won’t seat you, you can give him a gesture they understand in the North End: the back of your Palm.

For more information: www.vindigo.com.

ZAP ME SOME DOUGH, DADDY-O

Think of it as a learner’s permit for money. PocketCard lets parents give their ever-broke offspring a chance to spend some money without tempting them to squander cash or max out the family credit card.

The PocketCard works like a debit or ATM card. Parents can add a certain amount of money—as much as $500—and a child can charge only as much as the amount currently on the card. ATM withdrawals are limited to as much as $50 a day and $100 a week. In an emergency, a parent can instantly add funds to the card via the Internet or by phone.

No one can promise that PocketCard will obviate parental lectures on the virtues of thriftiness. (A television ad for the product shows an understanding Dad agreeing to add money to his son’s card when he overspends on a dinner date.) But the Web site does let parents track where money is spent, and lets parents and teens analyze buying patterns.

It seems it has never been easier for parents to dole out money sparingly to their children. Western Union has introduced a digital version of the wire transfer with its MoneyZap service. Parents can go online and transfer money from their checking accounts into their children’s bank accounts.

Actually, MoneyZap has much broader uses: It lets you send or receive money via e-mail, without having to know anything about the other person’s bank account. So, you can send e-mails to friends and colleagues when you are trying to collect money for a group event or to purchase a bridal shower or a retirement gift. You also can use e-mail to dun anyone who promised to "pay you back later." In addition, the service caters to those who need to arrange payment for products purchased at online auctions or through the classifieds. Transaction fees are currently being waived.

For more information: www.pocketcard.com or www.moneyzap.com.

NOW HEAR THIS!

Internet radio fans no longer have to settle for listening to their favorite music through the tiny—and sometimes tinny—speakers on their laptops. A new device from Sonicbox lets Internet radio be transmitted wirelessly from a computer and played through the speakers of a nearby stereo system.

Sonicbox’s iM remote tuner is one of the first products to hit the market that lets listeners walk away from their PCs and listen to tunes in the living room, for instance. You won’t need to run back to the study and click on the mouse to switch radio stations; you will use a remote control instead.

The tuner, which sells for $99.95 on the Sonicbox Web site, comes with a base unit that connects to the PC and a receiver that connects to a stereo. To make full use of the product’s ability to send radio signals in real time, it helps to have a broadband Internet connection, but a 56k modem will do for most of the features. In addition to beaming online radio broadcasts to your stereo, the Sonicbox system lets you listen to digital music files stored on your hard drive. Like many companies, Sonicbox also makes it easy to find and customize a list of favorites among the growing number of Internet radio stations.

If you are an Internet radio fan who would like to ditch the PC altogether, Kerbango plans to release a stand-alone Internet radio requiring a Web connection but no computer. The company, which 3Com recently acquired, is expected to price the radio at less than $300.

One of the benefits—for both listeners and music sellers—of these Sonicbox and Kerbango devices is that consumers can push a button to get information about who the artist is and how to buy the recording.

For more information: www.sonicbox.com or www.kerbango.com.

FIDELTY, SCHMIDELITY; PICK YOUR OWN

If you think you can pick stocks at least as well as most professional fund managers, now is your chance to take on Peter Lynch.

MutualMinds.com is launching an equity mutual fund that lets amateur investors have a say about which stocks the fund buys. The nice part is that even if you are a lousy stock picker, there is no penalty—you are simply ignored. That is because the system is designed to give clout to those who have shown a knack for accurately forecasting stock prices. Over time, investors’ forecasts are compared against actual stock prices, and each participant earns a score that reflects his picks’ historical performance. A computer model combines the forecasts from all participants that are invested in the fund, and the combined forecasts determine the investments for the fund.

The start-up fund describes itself as "the first purely investor-managed mutual fund." The portfolio is selected by an adviser, but he relies solely on the combined, scored input of investors. Smith Asset Management Group, a Dallas equity-management firm and a partner with MutualMinds, monitors the risk exposure of the portfolio, approves it, and executes trades.

At press time, MutualMinds was awaiting approval of its prospectus by the Securities and Exchange Commission, so it wasn’t taking investment money yet. But would-be investors already had signed up to analyze research reports and practice forecasting. A community also had formed to discuss various stocks.

Once the fund begins accepting real money, those not ready to start investing can still make forecasts, join in discussions, and use the site’s research tools.

For more information: www.mutualminds.com.